1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste removing apparatus for use in a punching machine for manufacturing a carton and, more particularly, to an apparatus for separating the waste region of a sheet, on which a punching line is formed in a previous process, from the product region of the sheet inserted between a fixed die and a movable die by inserting blades mounted on both the fixed and removable dies into blade inserting portions so as to remove the waste therefrom.
2. Description of the related art
Heretofore, according to a known waste removing apparatus for use in a punching machine, a sheet 1 having a required line (L) formed on a sheet (S) as shown in FIG. 12 is transported to, for example, a waste removing apparatus as shown in FIG. 13 so as to remove a waste region 2 from the sheet 1. Thus, a product (P) is manufactured.
The waste removing apparatus for use in a die-cutting machine shown in FIG. 13 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-49080. According to the disclosure, a fixed die 3 has nicks 4 formed in the periphery of sheet cutting portions and a plurality of curved leaf springs 6 are spaced at certain intervals from each other in a product region sandwiching region 5 thereof, and a movable die 7 has blades 8. The movable die 7 is moved toward the fixed die 3 so as to insert the blades 8 into the corresponding nicks 4. Thus, the waste region 2 is stripped from the sheet 1.
According to a known waste removing apparatus, in order to separate a waste region, whose configuration is complicated, from a product region, a projection whose configuration is similar to that of the waste region is mounted on a movable die and a pin is mounted on a fixed die. The pin is moved upward by a driving mechanism and brought into contact with the projection with the waste region sandwiched between the projection and the pin. Thus, the waste region, or the waste is removed from the apparatus.
In the waste removing apparatus shown in FIG. 13, the leaf springs 6 are mounted on the fixed die 3 at certain intervals therebetween in the product sandwiching area 5. Therefore, the product region (P) of the sheet 1 to be die-cut is supported by the leaf springs 6 alone, i.e., the product region (P) of the sheet 1 is partially supported. According to this construction, a thick, or a hard sheet such as a cardboard can be held to be flat, but a thin, or a soft sheet such as boxes of cake, cosmetics and the like is flexed between the leaf springs 6. Thus, in the case of a thin sheet, the waste region 2 cannot be separated reliably from the product region (P) by the waste removing apparatus.
In addition, even though the sheet 1 is thick enough to be supported partially by the leaf springs 6 without being flexed, the product region (P) is likely to wrinkle when the product region (P) and the waste region 2 are separated from each other. This is because when the product region (P) is sandwiched between the movable die 7 and the fixed die 3, pressure cannot be applied thereto uniformly, i.e., pressure applied to the product region (P) supported by the leaf springs and that applied to the product region (P) not supported thereby are different from each other. When ten to twenty product regions to be formed into small containers such as boxes of cake or cosmetics are punched from a sheet, needless to say, it is necessary to punch many portions. Therefore, unless the sheet 1 is uniformly supported by the leaf springs 6, the waste region 2 cannot be reliably stripped from the sheet 1.
In the apparatus having a projection similar to that of the waste region and a pin to be moved upward by a driving mechanism in correspondence with the movement of the projection, it is necessary to mount the pin on the fixed die at a correct position thereof, which necessitates troublesome work. Further, the pin is disposed in the space in which wastes fall after the waste region is separated from the product region. Thus, the pin obstructs the smooth falling of the waste.